Doctors are aware that patients who have one illness may tend to develop another problem that appears to be unrelated to the first. The second condition is often called a "shadow disease" and may actually be more serious than the disease already diagnosed.
Shadow illnesses can occur for different reasons. Some diseases cause damage that creates the second illness. In other cases, faulty genes or poor lifestyle choices combine to cause both conditions.
Here are seven common health conditions and their "shadows." If you have one of the conditions, being aware of its shadow can help you get early diagnosis and treatment.
1. Psoriasis and heart attack
Psoriasis can double the risk of having a heart attack, said Dr. David Ancona, FACC cardiologist at Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines, Fla. "There are diseases that exist that., for some reason or another, seem to follow one another like a shadow," he told ABC news.
